Stephen Harmison, the chief character during the prelude to the central drama of the England Test series in Sri Lanka, looks like missing at least the first act. Life seemed to be looking up for him after some relatively incisive fast bowling in three short spells on the first day of the three-day match here in Colombo, but in bowling the third ball of his eleventh over – an attempted bouncer, naturally - he tweaked a back muscle, walked off and, almost certainly, out of the first Test starting in Kandy on Saturday.

It was a back injury that ended Harmison’s ultimately unhappy home season in the middle of August, soon after the overhasty return to the Durham team that followed his hernia operation a month earlier. The trip to South Africa that preceded this tour, made at his own instigation to underline his determination to get back into the England side, seemed to have succeeded in its objective, bringing him 13 first-class wickets in two matches.

His early efforts yesterday against a Sri Lanka Cricket Board President’s XI, were purposeful and encouraging but, having got a wicket with a bouncer soon after lunch, when Tillekeratne Dilshan top-edged a hook to mid-on, the effort of bowling two more in his three balls in the evening session proved too much.

It is theoretically possible for Harmison to come back in the second innings of this match and prove to himself and everyone else that this was no more than the sort of muscle spasm that sometimes effects bowlers on humid days, but the portents looked bad for him as he walked off with Kirk Russell, the England physiotherapist, for immediate treatment.

“The physio doesn’t think it’s anything major,” Peter Moores, the England head coach, said at the close of a day in which all the main England bowlers had their moments, notably Matthew Hoggard and Monty Panesar. “It’s a new twinge; certainly nothing to do with his old injury, and we are hoping he’ll still be able to take a part in the second innings. But it is a concern and we’ll be careful with it. He’s disappointed because he was starting to find good rhythm. It’s put a bit of a cloud over what would otherwise have been a pretty good day for England.”

The unselfishness of Paul Collingwood and Ryan Sidebottom, the Test certainties who are sitting out this match, left only two selection issues to resolve in a game that started in clearer weather, at 10.30, an hour later than it should have done if 90 overs were to be bowled. Sure enough, England were eight overs and three balls short of the required rate, and already 15 minutes later than the scheduled close, when the umpires ruled the light too bad.

Having left out Stuart Broad, whose first Test cap cannot be postponed much longer, James Anderson, who might have been preferred anyway, is likely to benefit from Harmison’s misfortune. He bowled too short with the new ball, but got a wicket with the first ball of his second spell when Upul Tharanga, having again batted with elegance and application, chased a wide ball and edged to Ian Bell, the only slip, on a day when the only dropped catch was by Michael Vaughan, off a no-ball.

The captain’s fine catch, low at mid-on, to dismiss Mahela Udawatte, one of four left-handers in the top five, gave an increasingly impressive Hoggard the first of his three wickets, setting the tone for a fielding display that became ragged only for a short period of the evening session. A wild throw by Kevin Pietersen, when no run was being attempted, eluded Matt Prior and dealt Kaushal Silva, the enterprising little wicketkeeper, a stinging blow to his right hand.

When he was on 48, Silva failed to walk for what looked like a gloved sweep to short leg, the most genuine and vociferous of England’s many appeals, some of which, alas, were obvious attempts to pressurise the umpires. He eventually got an inside edge to short leg instead, whereupon Panesar quickly added two tailenders, his reward for some vigorous spin, but he was frustrated by the tight, left-handed defence of Jehan Mubarak.

That Bell stood at slip all day was not good news for Owais Shah, a regular slip fielder, who is cumbersome elsewhere and needs runs today if he is to keep out the burgeoning Ravi Bopara. Bopara’s nippy medium pace earned him the second wicket when Malinda Warnapura edged an attempted back-foot forcing shot.

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka Cricket Board President’s XI:

First Innings

W U Tharanga c Bell b Anderson 86
M L Udawatte c Vaughan b Hoggard 18
B S M Warnapura c Prior b Bopara 16
*T M Dilshan c Anderson b Harmison 23
J Mubarak c Prior b Hoggard 68
C K Kapugedera c Bopara b Hoggard 13
†J K Silva c Cook b Panesar 53
K S Lokuarachchi lbw b Panesar 0
W R S de Silva not out 1
U W M B C A Welegedara c Cook b Panesar 1
M K D I Amerasinghe not out 0
Extras (b 6, lb 7, nb 6) 19
Total (9 wkts, 81 overs) 298

Fall of wickets: 1-55, 2-79, 3-116, 4-158, 5-182, 6-287, 7-287, 8-297, 9-298. Bowling: Hoggard 17-3-57-3; Anderson 15.3-4-55-1; Harmison 10.3-1-45-1; Bopara 11-2-43-1; Panesar 22-4-67-3; Pietersen 4-0-15-0; Vaughan 1-0-3-0.

England: A N Cook, *M P Vaughan, I R Bell, K P Pietersen, S J Harmison, O A Shah, R S Bopara, †M J Prior, M J Hoggard, M S Panesar, J M Anderson.

Umpires: R Martinesz and W A Senanayake.